‘They weren’t lying when they said mind the gap’: Woman experiences what every Londoner fears when boarding Tube train

Commuting to an office may have taken a backseat in the past few years as more people shifted to remote work, but that daily train route is still a big part of many people’s lives. Besides getting out the door in time, there are a lot of things to be anxious about when it comes to sitting (if you’re lucky) or standing on the subway. You don’t want to be the only one around, you hope you won’t spill your coffee everywhere, and if you live in London, you want to exit the train gracefully and safely.

TikTok user @molskisklep gets off the train with her friend as the door closes… and tumbles onto the platform. Now that’s rough. She wrote in the caption, “They weren’t lying when they said mind the gap.” The gap looks huge in this video, which is alarming.

When someone asked if she was okay, Mol wrote, “Tube trauma for life.” Another user commented, “Always iconic” and another tagged their friend and wrote, “This would happen to us.” Thankfully, Mol didn’t get hurt, but it could have been so much worse.

What’s more dangerous, falling on the gap or possibly hurting yourself while jumping over the turnstiles without paying for a ticket? Although anyone taking a ride in London is used to seeing “mind the gap” imprinted on the tube platform, getting off the tube can be risky and painful. Eric Leach fell when there was a 12-inch gap between the train car and the platform at West London’s Ealing Broadway station in Feb. 2024, and he broke his foot. Leach told BBC.com, “It’s a scandal, someone will be seriously injured or die. It’s a death trap.” He’s sadly not the only one who this has happened to. In Nov. 2023, Giuliana Rossi broke her leg and injured her shoulder when she fell on the gap at Clapham Junction station. She told BBC.com, “I found the gap instead of minding the gap. We need to do something to make our railways safe.”

Although the “mind the gap” phrase feels like a horror movie moment waiting to happen, there is a sweet and emotional story involving these words. Dr. Margaret McCollum’s late husband Oswald Laurence‘s recording of “mind the gap” was used on the tube. She was understandably sad when it wasn’t used anymore. Then, Transport for London began playing it at the Northern line’s Embankment station again and also sent her a recording. As The Guardian reported, John Bull tweeted about this and also shared that McCollum would take the tube for five years and hear her late husband’s voice. While of course, this could never replace her terrible loss, it’s nice to know that she could be comforted in this way.

Some brutal injuries and accidents take place on the London tube frequently (a 101-year-old woman’s coat got caught in the doors of one car). One person dies on the London Underground for every 300 million tube rides that are taken. So, it’s particularly great news that Mol didn’t get hurt when she fell on the gap between the train and the platform. The next time you hop on the London tube, whether you live there or are visiting, Mol’s story is a reminder that the phrase “mind the gap” is there for a reason. And even if you take the subway elsewhere, this is still good advice to remember.